Some folks do indeed enjoy reading Red’s columns. I find it odd that many here think he should stop writing (or being published) just because they don’t like what he writes. Rather than bitching about wanting his articles stopped, perhaps those who don’t like his writing could just stop reading it and leave it for those who do enjoy it? Just a thought.

… you have wonderful memories of great Habs teams of the past, from the 50’s and 60’s, from the 60’s and 70’s, memories which you continue to publish, year after year, in the pages of the Gazette. I too have those memories, Red. Besides Jean Beliveau, I recall Ralph Backstrom and Phil Goyette; along with Larry Robinson, I remember Yvon Lambert, Bill Nyrop and Don Awrey. And although my memories are not as intense as yours, they are still among the best and greatest treasures of my life.

… but they are our memories, Red; they are not universal. So why do you wish to alienate Habs fans of 2011, by making them feel as though they are imperfect fans, somehow less than you and me, because they don’t have our memories. Certainly our memories must not be forgotten, but only you and I can keep them. Today’s fans didn’t experience them so they can’t have them or keep them. And no amount of recalling the past can change that. So why ask the fans of today to complete a task they can’t perform?

… you know, Red, I retired just about a year ago, and it is a marvellous state of life. You should try it.

“Whenever you have the puck, and don’t know what to do with it, put it in the net.” – Toe Blake

Sign Mats Naslund to a tryout contract. Play him in the first game, and then let him retire. Mats Naslund should retire as a Montreal Canadien, not a Boston Bruin. This is one of the greatest injustices in NHL history! 🙂

Invite the top scoring undrafted players from the Q to camp and let them play one game. Hold that game in Quebec City. Watch ticket sales go through the roof.

Invite Jean Perron back to guest coach one of the games. This should remind everybody how lucky we are to have Jacques Martin.

Sign Jean Beliveau. Tell Scott Gomez that he’s playing in the AHL next year unless he outscores Beliveau in pre-season. Given that Beliveau is now 80 years old and that he scored 76 points as a 40 year old, he should be good for 38 points. Which would tie what Gomez put up last season…have to make it fair to Gomez.

Play a game with a roster of players entirely under 5’11” and re-enact the old Nintendo “Ice Hockey” game with a team of entirely fast, skinny guys playing against a team of lumbering bruisers.

It’s the Preseason,
Or maybe the pre-season,
Or just the pre season.
But not the real season
Prior to the full season.
And hardly a real reason
To accuse them of high treason
So just you be freezin’.
‘Cause soon they’ll be teasin’
And certainly pleasin’
And will likely be squeezin’
More points than last season.

Well, I can’t comment on last nights game as I didn’t see it, but it sounds ugly. It seems we never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Let’s stop the “we were one goal away from beating the champs” crap after last night, when we should have been shutting them down and making a statement before the season starts.

Oh well.

I went to the Kings/Ducks game which Ducks won 3-1 with NO stars (no Getzlaf, Perry, Hiller, Koivu, Sellane) but with a bunch of kids who out-worked LA at both ends of the ice and created chances where there weren’t any.

Kopitar looks fully recovered, what a stud. It made me optimistic for Markov and Gorges, though of course the injury is different. Penner looks thinner. Frick he’s big. Looked like he was making some effort. We shall see. Two good young teams.

Ducks best player was Kyle Palmieri, who scored and went to the net and into every messy scrum like he meant it. I have no idea who he is or how big he is or where he was drafted, but he plays hard. Voshenkov is lovely to watch.

Neither, I was just reporting. The Ducks kids played harder than a Kings line up with more veterans and their #1 goalie. No tea leaves. But yeah, I don’t think it would be a bad thing to put a hurt on the Bruins to give everyone confidence to start the season. Why is that a bad thing?

My kid just joined a team that did not win a single game last season. Yesterday, they won their first game in over a year. Yeah, it was an exhibition game, season doesn’t start until next week, but I think it’s fair to say that it’s never too soon to start winning and to have a winning culture on a team.

Honestly WHO would even bother blocking a Chara league record breaking slap shot in the preseason?? on a side note, Halifax club’s must’ve been jumping last night with the rat marchand crunking out, “look Ma, no Subban!!”

What the hell is with the injuries, flus, etc….is this team cursed or what? Just ONE season, that’s all I ask, ONE season where injuries aren’t a big deal. Is that so hard? Please?

Also that poll is ridiculous – not only do I not want Subban to stop, I hope he comes out in full clown makeup and dances the macarena while juggling. The fact that it bothers rivals only makes it that much better.

Great news for Gallagher 🙂 What if he were on a 3rd line with Eller/DD and AK till the other guys are back from their injuries? Would be really cool to see. I love watching this guy play he’s exciting with the puck and never stops skating.

In 1993, the Habs drafted a feisty but undersized forward out of the WHL. Listed generously as 5’10” and 178 pounds during his career, nobody could question Darcy Tucker’s passion.

Going into his draft season, Tucker put up 31 goals and 80 points in 67 games for the powerhouse Kamloops Blazers after having been a member of a Memorial Cup winning team in his rookie season. The Habs were rewarded for their late pick (6th round, 151st overall) as Tucker would go on to be one of the best players in the WHL as a stacked Blazers team would win back-to-back Memorial Cups.

Over those two seasons, Tucker put up a staggering 106 goals and 277 points in 130 games, and was the captain of the 1994-95 Blazers team that featured the likes of Shane Doan and Jarome Iginla. And he scored when it counted in the playoffs too, puting up 25 goals and 58 points in 40 playoff games on top of 8 goals and 15 points in 8 Memorial Cup games, winning the Memorial Cup MVP in 1993-94.

But he didn’t get rushed to the NHL. Tucker was then sent to the AHL for a season to come up to speed in professional hockey. He didn’t disappoint: 29 goals and 93 points in 74 games as an AHL rookie and a strong performance in the playoffs, where he netted 7 goals and 10 points in Fredericton’s first-round loss.

So all indications were that we had a potential offensive star on our hands. He produced in junior on all stages, and he produced in the AHL.

Unfortunately for Tucker, there was a big jump between the skill levels of junior hockey and the NHL. In Tucker’s first full season as a regular, he was 21 years old and put up 7 goals and 20 points in 73 games. Decent numbers, given that he was playing behind Damphousse and Koivu, but perhaps not as good as they could have been. His second season saw him dealt mid-season to the Tampa Bay Lightning and saw no improvement: 7 goals and 20 points in 74 games.

It was only in his third season that he finally broke through for a very weak Lightning team, putting up his first of six 20 goal seasons.

I bring this up as an example of how expectations of a player’s future role might be changed as he develops. It is obviously not a universal tale…Tucker was an offensive star who turned into a very good energy player over his career. Another smallish player who got off to a slow start in his career was Martin St. Louis, and he has obviously gone on to become an elite NHL offensive force.

I look at Brendan Gallagher and see a lot of parallels with Tucker. The feistiness is there and the scoring is there. I don’t think many people expect that Gallagher will earn a regular spot for another season or two. Going back to Vancouver might lead to a disappointing campaign both personally and professionally, as was the case for Guillaume Latendresse when he was 19, as the Giants are poised for a rebuilding season with many of the team’s key players having graduated from the league last summer.

A realistic scenario would be to see Gallagher dealt to one of the WHL contenders for a shot at a Memorial Cup run, followed by a late-season call-up to the Bulldogs and then a solid year in the AHL to adjust to professional hockey. I would be ecstatic if Gallagher developed into another Darcy Tucker (minus the grating personality), and obviously we all hope that he could be more. Nonetheless, he is showing a lot of potential to be a steal at 147th overall in the draft.

We could make it like US College Football, where the home team gets virtually unlimited roster size and at times can have upwards of of 70 players dressed on sidelines! Start letting loyal fans dress for home games. THey only get on ice for pregame skate, but help with the bench doors during the game!

I do NOT get the whining and gnashing of teeth. The lines that should be controlling the pace and dominating have generally done so. Gomez and Pacioretty have generally looked great together, and the Cole line is showing promise as the new guy settles in. And the few top dmen who are not injured have looked like top dmen. Conversely ALL the prospects have played like prospects, with good shifts and bad– which is hardly surprising. Heck, we have to be happy that at least three of the prospects have show signs that they will soon be ready for the NHL. This hardly qualifies as a disaster.

I’d feel bad if the Habs were losing these games with full NHL rosters, including Gorges and Markov and Eller etc. But as it stands, at this stage of the preseason we’re evaluating the Bulldogs, not the Habs. So cheer up people.

I’m one of two who voted yes – but I should add a disclaimer: He’s my favorite player on the team. I just think that he’ll be scoring so much this season that it will become the norm – and he won’t be as excited for every one.

Its not that I think he should learn to do things the “white way” (I don’t think I’ll ever forget Darren Pang for that one).

Celebrate away – but don’t go all Teemu Selane “Duck Hunter” after every one. Plus, we don’t need him fighting because other teams don’t like his celebration. He’s too valuable to be losing for long stretches of the game.

Why tone it down! For who! What do we prefer have him bite other players or show the middle finger to crowds? The showmanship is part of his game and it gets under opposition skin like Marchand does in his way. Look PK kept his job with his flare and who was it that was traded calling PK disrespectful. I don’t think PK’s hanging around bars every night although I don’t follow him around to prove it!

I’m a Bruins fan, and I would LOVE to see PK in a B’s uniform, and have no problem with his “style” (even when it comes at the expense of the B’s). He seems like a kid who loves the game and has a lot of fun playing — don’t let anyone stifle that. He will put up huge numbers before he’s done with what I hope is a very long career.

If the coaches let this talented group be creative on the ice, we will be in for a treat this year.
But with the defensive brand of hockey, Jacques has implemented the past two years, I think more of the same. Unless Cunnyworth can add flavor.

Well I guess it’s time to pack it in and call it a season. I heard that PG and JM are already cleaning out their desks knowing the inevitable. Molson is furious that this team hasn’t won a game all year. Slump or no slump the long term thinking of management has got to STOP!! Their record has the players mentally shut down….some were forced to get on the plane to return to MTL. They have zero motivation knowing they can’t compete this year. I don’t understand why this team did not have a pre-preseason so they could peak for the all important preseason series. Obviously the outcome is a reflection of what’s ahead. I can’t imagine a worst time for JM to want to evaluate future Habs players and how they play to their assignments in a higher competitive environment. Why take a look at organization as a whole and just get on with winning now!! Doesn’t he know that he has thrown away the year?? Geez, I wish this team would wake up and realize that all points, no matter the game, are important. You would think they are would be as smart as the fans or at least consult with a few to get answers as to how to run a hockey team. So disappointing…..why can’t we be more like all other teams?? Time to scream like hell and demand preseason results!! Oh well, at least Boone can stir the pot and rile up the flock for some entertainment. Go Boone Go!

Objective OF pre-season/exhibition? To evaluate talent, see how far they have progressed, see how players can handle certain minutes/situations (PK, PP, down by a goal w/ a minute, protecting a lead, etc…). Helps determine obviously who is ready to make the team, who would be good to go in a call up situation, and evaluate first hand players you might not see much of (ie european/russian players). Plus it gives a chance for the vets to shake off some rust

For the Habs to make money. The Canadiens routinely book themselves one of the busiest pre-season schedules. Teams play as few as 5 pre-season games. Montreal and Toronto routinely rank amongst the league’s busiest teams in pre-season action over the past few years.

The problem with “it’s only the preseason and the coaching staff wants to give the kids a chance to show” is this: it runs the risk of really p!ssing off the veterans, especially the veterans who stand to look bad as a result (i.e. Price).

If I’m Carey, I’m thinking “God, can’t I just have a real NHL defenseman or two in front of me for a while? Or a winger who can actually get the puck out?”

I feel particularly bad for Kostitsyn, Gorges, and Weber (who had to play with the awful Alex Henry). Yeah, Weber should be doing more this preseason, but that knife cuts both ways: give him a better partner than Henry if you want to see how he might play come regular season.

Last night was frustrating but it was exactly as most claim it was: a mostly-NHL team against a mostly-AHL/CHL/ECHL team. Predictable results.

Thoughts:

-Budaj looks questionable so far. I was a fan of this signing and now, not so much.
-What to do with Gallagher? He looks too good for junior. But he can’t play in the AHL, as I understand it. Toughie…
-Beaulieu looks NHL-ready sometimes, and awful others. With some seasoning and coaching, this kid will be a gem.
-I am so bored of watching what is essentially the same faceless, nameless player skate an ineffective shift: Masse, DeSimone, Willsie, Bluden, Enqvist, Avtsin… these guys are not the answer
-Please bring back Eller and Desharnais. We need these guys
-Yemelin looks ready for the show, but he is leaving me wanting more. I thought he would run a rampage on someone already.
-Palusaj does nooooooothing for me. Looks like D’Agostini – might score a few goals but will ultimately be ineffective.
-St Denis looked great a couple games ago, then kinda sucked
-The only two newbies who – to me – look like they could play and be effective are Yemelin and Gallagher.

I’m soooooo ready for some cuts.

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If you’re sick of not being able to view the HIO comment structure from your iPhone, try downloading Mercury browser. If you have alternative suggestions, please send them along!

So, like, Theodore and Huet should have been p!ssed off when Price showed up for camp? Like it or not, this happens every season and I think the vets remember their first camp and pre-season game very well. You know, like when they were rookies?

Alright, I’m not one to bitch too much about pre-season stuff, but I’m gonna anyway since it’s obviously the thing to do. If he’s only going to dress a half dozen regulars, why wouldn’t JM play Plex, Cole & Cammy in the same game on the same line? Then, I dunno, maybe try Gomez centering Patcioretty & Gio the next night, on the same line? Doesn’t this seem like a bit of a no-brainer or am I out to lunch? I’m tired of watching Cammy slog around out there with guys like Massé and Blunden. I’m sure that JM does this stuff just to piss me off. I guess after they rattle off 10 Ws in a row off the top I may forgive him but comeon, coach right!

Not losing my mind (yet) but the young lads can still get a full-flavoured taste while our top two lines work on their timing. I’m just suggesting that Plex, Cole & Cammy play in the same game, taking a regular shift together for the whole game.

Or they can take the chance to evaluate who might fit into a top 6 role? Or give the kids a chance to see what they can do with a top line player. It’s all about evaluating players. If Cammi + Pleks don’t have chemistry by now, we have some problems. Cole is a professional player, he will adapt. So far seems to have half decent numbers. I wouldn’t worry about it.

I’m sure somebody far more clever than I am can mine some sort of correlation between the regular season records and the pre-season records. But since I have the IQ of a salad bowl on my good days, I see nothing but random noise.

I don’t have any numbers for this, but it would seem to me the teams with the better records during pre-season are the ones lacking depth (they’re playing more roster players, while others are going with prospects).

At least now we have some depth and are getting a good luck at the future, and giving them experience (even if only pre-season experience) I don’t remember (i could be wrong), the team waiting so long to make cuts before (yes i know a handful have been made already).

Because the Habs still have Mara and Sopel in their lineup as well, I think once the season starts and rosters are set, EA will come out with a patch to fix the rosters.
At least that’s what I hope, I remember my NHL 10 had no Subban, NHL or AHL, how annoying.

Downloaded the Roster Update #2 just yesterday on PS3 and it removed Mara and Sopes and put Woywitka in with Weber scratched as 7th D. Still no Yemelin… im hoping he makes it by the next roster update come start of the season.. all I wana do is cream guys on the blue line with this kid.

I may be wrong but EA Sports has deals with the CHL, NHL, etc. to add the players playing in those leagues. The KHL is an exception. In order for EA Sports to add Yemelin, he has to officially play a regular season game in the NHL. Only then he will be added into the game via a patch. Unless EA Sports gets lazy, which is a glaring problem in their latest game.

1) Gomez seems to care this year: that could be big for the Habs
2) Max Pax is back and looks like a power forward
3) We have some good young players coming up, two way faster than expected. Beaulieu still needs seasoning but I think Gallagher should get a 9-game tryout. The kid is balls out every shift and if he had had any luck he would have had 4 goals so far.
4) Moen has no business playing on one of the top 2 lines this year. He has no business playing on line 3. He may have no business playing on line 4. I think he is our 13th forward. We are looking for #12.

I made this big post early this morning and with the VERY next post the stupid HIO cutline moved it to “older posts”. (Guys, it’s not a newspaper, there’s a better way.)

And so then this next thread came and boom – gone again. So sorry for those of you who DID see it, but I’m re-posting my thoughts.

1. Budaj. I liked Auld and don’t see Budaj as an upgrade. (I said that in July, not just tonight.) Maybe Budaj will turn out for the better, but listening to him after the game he seems MUCH more skilled at deflecting questions than pucks. (And he’s not going to beat Lang for saying “you know” but he’s giving it a try.) I wish he would stop saying “we”. “We” didn’t let in 7 goals. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still plugging for the guy, you know.

2. Wilsie. Who is Wilsie? Where did he come from? Does he sit next to Skilsie?

3. Gallagher vs. other rookies. Man, Gallagher’s game is forged in fire and steel. Awesome to watch. He treats every shift like it’s a chance to go out there and score. What’s amazing is that that’s so rare. Most of these other guys – their games look like their forged in folded paper and rubber bands. You can only do so much waiting for the right wind and a good trajectory to give you a path to the net. Sometimes you actually have to make sh$t happen. Watch Gallagher.

4. Palushaj. Yeah, he’s probably going to stick with the club. Why? Because he’s playing just good enough. Since his only competition is Gallagher, and Gallagher is both young and small (even if way better), we get the #2 guy.

5. Gomez. Sounds like Gomez not only worked in his fitness, he took some PR lessons too. Glad he’s not being so casual and jokey all the time. Joke all you want when you win and when things are going well. Pre-season or not, a 4-goal loss is not a time to joke. Nice also to see him pumping Gallaghers tires. Which is just what Gomez might be doing when this kid hits his stride in the NHL.

6. Darche. Did Darche play? I see him in the audio. But did he play?

7. Kostitsyn. I’ve always been a fan of Kostitsyn. And I’m pretty sure he’s going to go the way of his brother. Even in pre-season he gets shafted, making this trip to Halifax with a mostly AHL team to get pounded by the Bruins. No Plekanec, no Gionta, no Ellis, no Patches, just Gomer to play with. AK deserves better.

8. Injuries. So what is it about this team that even before the puck drops about a third of the guys are hanging you in the clinic. I’ll tell you what – and this comes from what happened in the Koivu years. You take a team that is just a bit smaller, and a bit less tough, than the average NHL team, and you ask them to play bigger and tougher than they are – and you get a lot of injuries. Enthusiasm is great.

10. Martin. You have to know that “twitchy” went into this game expecting a blow-out. A mostly AHL team playing in front of a back-up goalie with a poor NHL record, up against the Stanley Cup Champs with an NHL-heavy roster, after a night of deep fried clams with that yellowy tartar sauce and JF Lovely’s awesome fries, followed by a stroll down the dock to Cows for ice cream and then a few rounds of Barret’s Privateers at the lower deck with a few pops to go with it… uh, sorry. Homesick a bit.

11. Beaulieu. What is that in French – beautiful sumpthin? Place? Well, this guy is in a beautiful place – being about the best defenseman (next to PK) on a team that’s supposed to be stacked with NHL calibre D-men. Ya know who’s not in such a beautiful place is about six other guys – the millionaires he’s showing up.

Ho Hum. I know it’s only pre-season. It would be nice to see something to get excited though besides two kids that for their own sake shouldn’t be brought up yet.

Good points, but a few things: If we had a high caliber back-up, then people would be second-guessing Carey, and he would be off his game, like in the Halak-era. Budah works just fine, he’ll suck and Price will be The One.

Also, I thought that Gill is clearly not giving his intense a-game, kind of veteran and relaxed, so no reason to panick.

Im aware its preseason but i gotta say im worried about the team this year for one reason , the loss of Roman Hamrlik. People were all over him the last 2 yrs when he appeared to slow down toward the end of the season/playoffs , but the guy was our anchor on defense and came to play tough hockey every night . When he was on the ice i had a certain confidence that the other team wouldn’t score and that maybe we can even go the other way and score one. I feel losing him and replacing him with yemelin is going to make this season considerably harder on the whole team.

Temporary relocation. The concrete at the TD Center has a crack in the concrete foundation. Causes under investigation but two leading are either excessive weight from swollen heads or a new player constantly falling down. Will advise if I hear further.

If the Habs won every pre-season game here is what people here would be saying and thinking:

Wow, we are the best.
Stanley Cup here we come.
Isn’t it awesome how many potential NHLers we have in the pipes. The cupboards are bulging.
I can’t for the regular season to see just how great we really are.
Just imagine. We’re winning all these games with our call-ups and future stars. Think how great we’ll be in a few years.

Then nobody would be saying “It’s only the pre-season.”

So just let’s all stop trying to be arm chair psychologists and everybody give each other a big hug.

The rosters we have dressed are fractions of what our team will be in reg. season. And if the rosters we currently were dressing were winning games, that would be impressive.

If this team comes out of the gate flat and terrible, then we will have an issue on our hands.

I did agree with your post last night talking in general terms about how it would be nice if this team had the physical edge to compete night in night out with teams like Boston. I will be anxious however, to see when our complete roster is playing (minus markov, as I think he is out for awhile) how they do physically compete.

Okay well dont speak for me and quite a few others around here then, you can “Here’s the thing. I am not stressed. I am not screaming, crying or freaking. Because. It’s only the pre-season.” all you like but you have been one of the more vocal panickers around bro, disclaimer or not!

If anything your initial rant just reeks of projection and if im wrong its because of one and/or two things

I express myself well. You are the one who reads something that’s not there in what I am saying. I think you need to take some reading comprehension courses or something. I never saw you as being one of the reactionary ones in the past. Why so now?

My perception is those that over react to my comments are in fact admitting they agree with me in their guts although their brains are trying their bests to rationalize disagreement.

My point is this. The Habs are having a not so great pre-season and the trend is to discount it as insignificant. However if the opposite were true vis-a-vis their record so would the view as to the significance of the results.

It’s a bit disingenuous to slam people for pointing out their discomfort and angst.

And yes. I’d would have much preferred to see the Habs play better if not at least win a few more games this pre-season. And even though the results don’t count to the regular season standings the end result is that there would be more to get excited about as a Habs fan if they did better than falling back on another list of excuses.

I don’t know what all the panic is about this is preseason, it’s more of a look see what you have in the system, the team is already picked and they’re giving the young guys a chance to see what it’s like to play at the NHL level should some of them make it down the road they’ll know what to expect.
someone mentioned yemelin, this guy is not gonna be tough, if I heard correctly he had his face re-arranged in the KHL, he can’t afford to have that happen again. once you’ve had broken bones in your face it makes you think before you act again.
This guy will be a playmaker, throw a few hits here and there, once he starts getting a few face washes he’ll be pretty tame, if he wants to mix it up with the tough guy’s he’ll have to pay the price and I think that will be short lived. remember he’s russian and most are not known to be rough mostly skilled may see the odd one that can mix it up. anyway before we get too excited lets wait and see our real team….

It had to be at least eight. That’s the minimum according to the CBA – article 15.3 (d)

(d) A Club shall be permitted to dress a minimum of eight (8) veterans for any Exhibition Game. For purposes of this Section, a veteran shall constitute either: (1) a forward or defenseman who played in thirty (30) NHL Games during the previous season, (2) a goaltender who either dressed in fifty (50) or more NHL Games or played in thirty (30) or more NHL Games in the previous season, (3) a first round draft choice from the most recent year’s Entry Draft or (4) any Player who has played one-hundred (100) or
more career NHL Games.

Yes and Alex Henry (177 NHL games?) plus according to your rules (3) quoted, Nathan Beaulieu as our 1st round pick.
So we have 7 Hab vets, 2 AHL vets and Beaulieu that count against the Veteran catagory.
My point is that we had 7 NHL level against 13 from the Bruins NHL level.
Willsie has 381 NHL games.

Because pre-season is less than useless. It used to be a time for the players to play themselves into shape, but that isn’t so much an issue now.

At this point, it is little more than an opportunity for the teams to bilk fans of a few hundred thousand dollars in exchange for the privilege of watching hockey that is worse than what you would see in junior hockey.

This year, everybody is hot to trot on Brendan Gallagher based on his pre-season. To that I reply with two words: Guillaume Latendresse. How soon so many forget. 🙂

While I understand your comparison to Gui because of age and skill, you are doing a massive disservice to Gallagher comparing him to that large load Gui. The work ethic, the strength & condition of Brendan versus Gui is absolutely uncomparable. Yes there a premature calls for this kids to play in the NHL, but unlike Gui, when Brendan does get the opportunity, you can rest assured this kid will work his tail off and not show up looking like a Krispy Kreme donut.

Yet, when Gui came to camp, people were marvelling about his strength and how much he wanted to be in the NHL.

I’m sorry, but I’ve seen far too many young guys excel against sub-standard competition to get particularly excited. Gallagher is not making the team this season, and in all likelihood he won’t make it next season either. He’s got a long road ahead of him learning how to play against players that are bigger and stronger than the 16-18 year olds that he is used to competing with.

I agree he is still 2 years away, but he is showing great promise. But i stand by the fact that Gallagher is a fitness freak, and any coach that has had him swears by his work ethic. Don’t recall every hearing those things about Gui. OH Gui was big, and had strength, but now entering his 6th NHL season he has apparantly figured out he needs to be in shape. To me they are complete different characters. By no means does it guarantee Gallagher will make it, but it wont be from lack of effort.

Arpon writes “He doesn’t win faceoffs like Engqvist does and he doesn’t have Engqvist’s size, but Dumont can kill penalties, he hits people, he can skate and – most importantly to me – he looks like he gives a damn.”….

is it just me?? or i don’t even think engqvist has won a faceoff all preseason?

I know it was game 5 and everybody only slept 2 hours over this last night and going to see their hockey shrinks this morning BUT! Remember when the Bruins spanked the Habs in the last regular season game 7 zip and everyone thought the moon fell on earth! My notes! I want to see Aaron and Brendan and Nathan! Even if it means loosing! I was a Beaulieu fan but agree he’s nowhere near ready! But you still have to play him a lot in games like this to measure his true ability! Next year you take another look and remeasure for progress! Frankly I really don’t care about the win but I have been following closely to see what we have. So it looks like myself and Martin are thinking along the same lines which is very unusual! The other thing is I believe he’s looking very very closely at AK and there may be another spot opening up. Why? Personally I think he’s got “”1 foot and 9 toes out the door”” and I think you can’t ignore that Aaron and Brendan are pushing that theory while you don’t even notice AK.
I may be very very wrong but I think the Habs have had enough of AK and the only reason he was signed was to trade him! The good new, Henry handled Thornton with ease! I know some will disagree but Henry won clearly! You don’t stun a player 2 or 3 times and loose a fight! Not sure if Yemelin is feeling his way around but start using your size buddy and play your game. I don’t think he’s hurting himself as a D man but he needs to step up his physical play. Maybe he’s a little gun shy. Lets face it he’s new, can’t speak the language, not sure who like/dislikes him, there are a lot of factors here. Maybe he doesn’t feel part of the family yet to open that part of the game up. Lets face it if you make big hits, it will get rough out there and maybe he’s not comfortable enough yet and maybe afraid to make a mistake on a big hit. We’ll see!

I hate to lose, and hate it when Montreal loses, except when it’s the pre-season. These games give us a chance to see what’s coming down the pipe, while meeting the league minimum number of veteran players that are required to round out the lineup.

Expect losses. Expect lots of goals against. These things don’t matter in the preseason. What matters is seeing guys like Beaulieu, Gallagher, Yemelin, Weber and a slew of others who will eventually accompany Price, Subban, Eller, et al., develop and experience what it’s like to play with and against some of the best hockey players in the world.

To look at the team as a whole and feel despair is a condition that will never be solved without some heavy pharmaceutical aide. This team has a bright future and I look forward to watching more preseason action that involves any of the names mentioned above.

Ok Let me get this straight. People are ragging on Peter Budaj cause he didn’t have a stellar night. Hmm.. Let me see. Carey Price wasn’t too hot in his first 2 starts. And I remember last year when he was really bad throughout the preseason adn then had a stellar year.

In addition, these guys are playing an insane amount of hockey. Even if they are changing the roster around, it is still tiring. 6 Games in 7 nights. Insane. I will truly judge his team at the 20 game mark of the season. Until then there is no point.

The Habs iced a team with about 30% representation of actual NHL players.

Two or three of the goals looked like they came from guys who have never played together.

Budaj looked shakey.

Gallagher was fantastic. Again.

Yemelin looked good.

Beaulieau didn’t look as good but still looked better than he should be at this stage of development.

Gomez looked pretty good.

A bunch of Junior and AHL players looked like… well juniors and AHLers.

The only statement that ought to cause any concern is Budaj, and mainly in the “what if Price goes down?” context, because it doesn’t look like he will be getting many starts anyhow. And on the whole Auld/Budaj question, I had no strong feeling either way except to say that I would have pursued MArtin Biron instead of Auld originally anyway. The Rangers signed him for 2years at $875K per after PG signed Auld.

Regarding the number of legitimate NHLers dressed by the Habs last night….I have to say I was very surprised. There used to be a time when the classy organization known as the Montreal Canadiens would go out of their way to acknowledge the hospitality of a neutral site city such as Halifax by dressing as many regulars as they could. It was always considered good PR, and nobody was better at it than Montreal. Like everything else, the times they are a-changing. Getting shown up by the Bruins in the PR department only set the stage for what was to transpire in the game.

That may be true. But when playing 6 games in 7 nights. You need to change players around. You don’t want your real players to get injured. But at the same time you want them to get some playing time. Really hard to judge. This isn’t the 70’s anymore. Times have changed.

Heres whats botherting me. Yah fine it was only exhibition but Budaj!!! I mean, he was like, sleeping. He isnt an AHLer, he is the number 2 guy who is guaranteed a few games this year. Why wasnt he trying?

If I was coaching, I’d tell the guys who are definitely going to make the team to take it easy on the hitting in preseason. It may hurt to get hit but it can also hurt to give out the hits. Why injure yourself when you’ve made the team, there’s nothing to prove and it doesn’t count? Besides Let’s see what he does when he needs to do it. What thinkest us about that?

And for all we know the coaches may have said that to him after Day 1 of training camp. That opening day he was hitting everything that moved. I suspect you are correct in that Cunneyworth or Pearn probably pulled him aside along with a translator, explaining ok we know you can hit, now save it for reg. season.

You may have a point. So you think that his making the team is a done deal?
I know it was only a pre-season game, but I would have loved for him to have laid out some hits, just to give the Bruins a taste of what they can look forward to this season.

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“That’s the save of the year and it’s not even the year yet!”

He’s not going back. Defensively hes solid enough. I think its a combination of Martin telling him to take it easy after the hit on Max early in the camp and he’s new and has his “feelers” out. Most likely told “We want to see you play” and keep the hitting for the regular season! Don’t know his +/- from last night but so far he hasn’t hurt the Habs in the defensive zone while Beaulieu showing his offensive prowess has been less than stellar in the defensive zone in the last 2 games! I think Yemelin’s on the team!

Excuse me a sec…[big yawn]…K, I’m good. It appears the knives are out pretty early this year. The Habs are a brutal 1 and 4 in PRE -SEASON for Godsakes. Oh my, what are we going to do?

I suppose those who have naturally negative personalities would have a lot to work with here. Easy pickings, if you ask me. But from my perspective, I have seen mostly good things so far. Pre-season, in it’s early stages, is nothing more than a chance to see how some of your young prospects and potential “hole-fillers” are coming along. With not many holes being expected to be filled on this year’s squad, you have to focus on the prospects who you know are either going back to the AHL or junior. J. Martin is doing a good job of that. These kids are seeing a ton of ice time. So sad that it comes at the expense of some Habs fans egos by not showing through in the win column. Hey what are ya gonna do.

I’ve seen so much to look forward to, especially with Gallagher and Beaulieu. I can’t wait for Beaulieu to make this team. A pleasant surprise to me was the goaltending of Lawson. If it wasn’t for the signing of Budaj, he might have had a shot at backup. But, I don’t challenge the wisdom of a coach who feels a veteran NHLer is a better bet as that backup. I understand that line of thought. Getting back to Beaulieu, wow is all I can say. Love the poise of this kid, as well as the skill set. Kinda makes me think…Yemelin Schmemelin…but that is slipping into the negativity, oops. Two different types of defenceman to begin with. Although I haven’t seen any of this grit from Yemmy so far. It’s all fine and dandy to slam bodies during the friendly confines of team scrimmages, but I have seen none of it during the games against actual opponents. I guess I gotta give it time.

Leaving the youngsters aside now, what’s not to like about our regulars? Pacioretty, Cammellari, and yes Gomez, have all looked very good in pre-season. As have most of the others. And it’s not always easy to look good when playing alongside a bunch of kids trying to catch on. I have seen precious little from our regular D guys, because Martin has dominated the roster with the question mark kids so far in this pre-season. However, what I have seen from Gorges certainly encourages me. PK is PK, no problem there, and Gill looks fine. Spacek coming in a little less tubby will pay dividends during the grind of the season. That, and a little less work for him. In goal, Price hasn’t caused me any concern, and Budaj, well, I’ll say the jury is still out on him. Being fair, I would like to see him with six solid NHL Dmen in front of him.

Let’s move on to the next stage, Jacques. Cut the roster down to the regular guys, with just a smattering of guys who do have legitimate shots at filling any holes, both now, and down the road when other injuries hit. Let’s get some chemistry going now with the remainder of the pre-season games. I’m looking forward to seeing what the real Habs will bring this year. Pre-season has been fun so far, but I want to see 2 points up for grabs each game.

I keep telling myself it’s only an exhibition game because … they’re only exhibition games. THEY DON’T COUNT. We are assessing a lot of young players. I hope the Bruins get overconfident and start to think this season will be easy. We will be there when it matters. We will win the season series against Boston. AGAIN! THAT you can COUNT on. I’m rarely wrong about these things. 😉

Reposting from Previous Thread
Team Toughness, I can understand why a few posters were making the comments they were yesterday regarding the desire to have a bigger/stronger/tougher=NAG lineup.

I do think PG has addressed it somewhat for this coming year, and I think he will continue to address, I suspect many wish he would do it faster while others don’t believe there is a need.

If I look at the roster which should be on the ice to open the season versus the lineup we had on the ice in Game 7 versus the Bruins I do see some obvious changes.

In adding Cole, Maxpac, Emelin we have 3 players that should be able to provide a physical presence. Cole and Maxpac will most likely be split amongst the top 2 lines creating some traffic in front of the net and getting some checks in the corners.

Our 3rd line which we haven’t seen as a result of Eller still rehabbing will have decent strenght with Eller/AK combining with either DD or Darche.

Our 4th line which we also haven’t seen with White rehabbing a minor injury (hopeful it is minor) should provide much NAG as will include Moen/White and somebody.

So while PG has slowly started to address the need for players providing physical play (not fighting per se) I can understand why some want more. The problem is trying to do so quickly and possibly at the expense of taking highly skilled players out of our lineup.

I am hopeful and confident that when we ice our full squad this team will more than hold its own. My concern is if we lose 1-2 of these grittier styled players we don’t have the depth in this area to backfill. Currently our depth in young players is talented dmen and talented forwards and not so much in NAG players. This is exposed when we play many of our youth versus other teams who have fielded either more NHL ready players or if they happen to have more depth in the NAG styled players.

I am not against PG continuing to make this team tougher, but am not prepared to start taking talented players out of our lineup just to add muscle. The additions must be able to skate with the team and help improve our 5 on 5 scoring.

Sorry for long ramble.

Does anyone know yet what lineup is being iced for the Boston game in Montreal?

The “I-told-you-so” crowd is out early this year. Never mind that it’s the pre-season and the team is still evaluating players. Never mind that there hasn’t been a single game with more than 10 Habs starters. They are all suffering from Pre-Season Exaggerated Desires. Yup, they are PSED and not afraid to display it.
The puck drops for real on the 6th of October. Don’t get your panties in a knot until then.

Agree Gman, and my primary point is lets judge our team toughness by what our actual team will be. I do still think PG is going to consistently try add a bit more grit. The drafting of Tinordi alone is proof of that.

Good post. Just concerned about how we (and will) lose those 50/50 battles for the puck against Bruins. They know and you can see it that they can indimitate our veterans and young players. That organization has done a good job of playing within the rules, I say this loosely! They win, have won and they are a step ahead of us due to the good work of rebuilding and trading over the last 6 years. Were close but they will be the team we need to build against in the East. I hope I am wrong but we may have hindered development of some of our youth due to some of the long contracts we handed out ex. Spacemen, Moen, etc.

Brian Willsie, who was injured earlier in camp, helped his chances with a goal and dismissed the notion that it’s only an exhibition game.

“It is Boston and there’s a little rivalry there,” said Willsie. “It was a little ugly. You put an emphasis on winning games at all times, particularly late in the preseason. This is Game 5 for us so we want to start putting some wins together to get some momentum going into the regular season.”

I’d like to suggest that if anyone actually needs to repeat to themselves, “It was only an exhibition game.” that they might also consider adding something along the lines of, “I need to get a life”. Just to round out the therapeutic value.

Because, it WAS only an exhibition game… played by a squad that barely resembles the team the Habs will ice this year. Which makes it about about as meaningful as a Japanese t-shirt printed with English words.

If he’s going to weed out hits to the head, then so be it. He explained that he put the onus on both players, and that when one isn’t able to put themselves in a defensive position, the hitting player is at fault for primary contact to the head.

My concern with Shanny is these useless preseason game suspensions. If what Brad Boyes did recently is worthy of a suspension make it regular season. WTF does suspending a veteran who doesn’t even want to play in Preseason games do?

Yah, I like that, but you know what I mean. I heard some former players talking about preseason and they are happy to not have to play them. It just seems a bit of a copout to use Preseason as any type of penalty.

He is trying to get the respect back in the league. He needs to be a hard ass for awhile until everything settles down. The league was so brutal with suspensions for awhile it will be a bit before he can change the culture

The general consensus is that tonight is the final game where we’ll see lots of youngsters and tryouts. Then Bulldogs camp starts in Montreal under coach Jodoin, lots of players will be ‘sent down’, even though everyone stays in Brossard. The main camp may keep a couple more bodies than expected to plug holes caused by injuries.